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Monday, October 31, 2016

Morning, y'all! I've got an October For the Love of Books post, for you all, today and just in the nick of time, too. Gracious! Talk about procrastination! I really struggled with which book to share this month. I wanted to go with more of a seasonal pick; but a stack of great reads, that I've pushed aside, for one reason or another, over the course of the last four years now, kept calling for my attention. So, Ezekiel helped me decide on one of his favorites from that stack. It is written for children ages four to eight and cleverly assembled by one of my all-time favorite, talented geniuses.

A Bad Case of Stripes, written and illustrated by David Shannon, tells the story of Camilla Cream, who loved lima beans but never ate them, because her friends hated them. She fell victim to always worrying about what other people thought of her to the point of it making her break out in a rainbow of stripes that forced her to stay home from school. Dr. Bumble was called in, couldn't find any reason to keep her home another day, gave her some ointment to clear up the stripes, and went on his way. The next day, at school, everyone laughed at Camilla. While she tried to act as though everything were completely normal, during the Pledge of Allegiance, her stripes "turned red, white, and blue, and she broke out in stars!" and that was only the beginning of her transformations. She was sent home from school, termed a "distraction." Dr. Bumble called in the Specialists, who instructed her to take one each of their prescribed medications; but by the next morning, Camilla had turned into a giant, multi-colored pill. This time, Dr. Bumble called in the Experts; but they "didn't have a clue, much less a cure." Camilla and her family "were swamped with all kinds of remedies from psychologists, allergists, herbalists, nutritionists, psychics, an old medicine man, a guru, and even a veterinarian. [But] each so-called cure only added to poor Camilla's strange appearance, until it was hard to even recognize her." Fortunately, a quiet knock at the door brings Camilla sweet relief in the form of a kind, old woman and her handful of lima beans. Will Camilla remain a slave to her constant need to please others, or will she finally learn to just be herself?

Thanks, as always, for humbling me with a visit! Stay safe, and happy reading, friends! I'll see you on the other side of October. Hugs!

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Welcome to the weekend, friends! I'll be off to a pancake breakfast, for my big kiddo's basketball team, in just a bit. But before I get started cooking for it, I've got a page to share; as it's my turn on the Pretty Little Studio blog. I'm diving, once again, into Ashley Horton's Oakley Avenue Collection. Gosh, I love it so!

I started this page by stamping the "XO", from our Cedar Clear Stamp Set, in Jet Black ink, randomly trickling from the top to bottom of my 12x12 watercolor paper, base page. I then covered the left 4" of it with strips of a number of prints from this collection and anchored them with black-threaded, straight, machine stitches. A little, watercolor wash sets the foundation for my photograph, which was matted with white cardstock. Before adhering it over a happy mix of prints, which were anchored with more black-threaded, machine stitching, as well as a bit of vellum, to soften all the rich colors, I rubbed Wild Honey Distress Ink through a triangle stencil and splattered everything with the same watercolors used above, along with Pure Black and Titanium White acrylic paints. I also tucked a Cameo-cut, from Daffodil Delight cardstock, Leafy wreath behind my photo stack. The bottom left corner of that stack was then embellished with a cluster, consisting of Weathered Frames and Feelin' Fallish Die Cuts; a Foxy Fall Flair Button; and a length of Baker's Twine, tied in a bow.

The design was topped with a "Latte Love" Feelin' Fallish Die Cut and "crisp air" Pumpkin Mini Words and "HOT CHOCOLATE" Hello Fall Cut-Aparts. The first two were popped up with foam tape.

A couple more Weathered Frames and Feelin' Fallish Die Cuts ground the page, alongside a Basic Black, Cameo-cut, cardstock "Saturday", which I coated with Glossy Accents for added interest and texture.

A little, hand-penned journaling, grounded with a Feelin' Fallish Die-Cut scallop and which reads, January 4, 2014, They were all out of Pumpkin Spice Lattes in K.C., but they're my absolute fave. So, we thought we'd try our luck @ the Starbucks in Emporia before heading home & totally lucked out! Of course, you both needed... wanted kid-size cocoas, too, and trio of Fall Words Stickers, thrown into the mix, complete the look.

Thanks, as always, for popping in! I hope you get some time to play with paper this weekend. Hugs!

Friday, October 28, 2016

Afternoon, y'all! Just popping in with this month's Friday Faves lineup, as promised in yesterday's Branson Trip post. So, let's get started with this sweet, little Typecast Mint Typewriter from We R Memory Keepers. I've said it a thousand times, but I think I may have been born in the wrong historic time period. There's just something about simpler, pre-technological times that brings my soul such peace. Although, I wouldn't trade modern medicine for anything ;). Anyway, this baby is a useful, especially for quick snippets of journaling, ode to that less complicated era. Plus, who can resist this fabulous color?!

I was initially drawn to that same color in Fancy Pants'Golden Days 12x12 Collection Kit. However, that multicolored leaf print and those darling deer, not to mention its eclectic letters and bold blooms, made this one a must-have in my book. So pretty!

Just because there are a number of babies popping up in my world (Just to clarify, these babies are NOT my own. I don't want to start any rumors or anything ;).), I had to include Organic Mama Design'sBandana Bibs. Such a beautiful mix of one of my current favorite palettes, and I just love the natural prints.

And just for fun and because they're my absolute faves right now, I wanted to share Annie'sChocolate Chip Cookie Bites. They're perfectly scrumptious; and best of all, they don't contain any high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, artificial flavors, or synthetic colors or preservatives. Mmm!

That does it, for this month, friends. I truly hope you, too, found something to love or a gift to give by visiting today. I've got a page, showcasing more of Ashley Horton's Oakley Avenue Collection for Pretty Little Studio, coming your way tomorrow. Until then, thanks so much for stopping by, and have a spectacular weekend! XOXO

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Hey, y'all! I, finally, weeded through the hundreds of pics that I took of our short, little trip, to Branson, Missouri, earlier this month and wanted to share a few of them, with you all, today. Ezekiel had a homeschool band event the Friday evening before we left. So, we got a really late start to the drive and arrived, at our destination, at Table Rock Lake, in the wee hours of the morning, on Saturday, October 1, 2016. We didn't let our lack of sleep, however, stop us from getting an early start, to Homeschool Weekend, at Silver Dollar City.

Kaden was tall enough to ride many of the attractions with an adult. Although, I wouldn't have taken him on Fire in the Hole, if I'd known anything about the ride. We didn't think anything about it, being as he met the height requirements; but there were a few too many steep drops, and because it was dark, you couldn't tell when they were coming. He didn't cry; but while he wanted to go on all the other rides again, when asked, even though he said it was fun, he did NOT want to try that one again. He still talks about it. He says, "I got wet. Mommy got wet. Daddy got wet. Adina got wet. Ezekiel got wet. Bumpy, bumpy. I fall down. Scared me." Poor baby!

Adina could ride just about anything she desired this year. You may remember, from our trip to Worlds of Fun last year, that Adina was loving the roller coasters. So, my hubby and I were looking forward to swapping off between riding with her and looking after Kaden; but you may also remember, especially from our last visit to Silver Dollar City, that Ezekiel refuses to ride any more roller coasters. Well, he got into her head on the trip down there this year; and we were only able to convince her to go on one. Don't get me wrong. It was PowderKeg. So, it was a doozy; but my hubby got to go, and then, she wouldn't ride any more. Sigh.

Oh, well, we still had lots of fun riding the other rides...

and visiting the vendors...

and we had to pry everyone, especially Kaden, out of the ball house, in Fireman's Landing, in order to take a special, informational, train ride, for all the homeschoolers, to end the day.

We stopped for dinner, at Pizza by the Chef, on the way back to our cabin; and while the pizza was pretty tasty, the service was horrible! Y'all, we were there nearly two hours and left just as quick as we could swallow our pizza, as it was late when we stopped and long past my kiddos' bedtimes by the time we left. It came highly recommended, especially for their vegetarian selection; but I was unimpressed to say the least. It was brutal watching the wait staff take thirty minutes to clear a table, and it took nearly that long to even get glasses of water for our table. Ugh! Plus, the live music was so loud, we couldn't hear one another speak across the table.

We didn't let it ruin our day, though. After baths and a good night's rest, we got ready for another day at Silver Dollar City. We started the day with a tour of Marvel Cave, which we understood, beforehand, to be different from last year's tour; however, it was the same. The only difference was that we chose to let my hubby stay above ground, with Kaden, this year; and I actually got to hear what our tour guide was saying. LOL!

We got to visit more of the shops on Sunday. Ezekiel and Adina took a taffy-making class, which ended up being the same demonstration any visitor can see, and got a bag of taffy to take home, which they loved...

as well as dipped their own candles; and Adina got to weave a bookmark, while the big boys rode a few rides. All in all, we weren't impressed with all the "homeschool classes"; but we love Silver Dollar City! I swear their staff must have to take a friendliness test, before they get hired. We only ran into one unfriendly person, in two days, in the entire park; and we couldn't have asked for any more perfect weather for the weekend.

Oh, and I couldn't resist throwing in this one of Ezekiel's ornery grin, while watching people's faces as they came down the five-story drop on American Plunge...

or this one of my cutie patootie just being a cutie patootie. I swear that I'm going to put a brick on his head to keep him from growing up ;).

On Monday, we hung out at the lake, recovering, exploring, throwing rocks...

fishing, and swimming (yes, in October).

Our little cabin on the lake wasn't anything special; but it freed us up to just be a family and relax, and the views were breathtaking.

Tuesday brought hot pancakes and bacon for breakfast and packing up, while we waited for our showing of Moses at Sight and Sound Theater to begin. Gosh, I just can't say enough good things about Sight and Sound. We're always so impressed with the overall production and friendliness of the staff. This was Kaden's first trip, and even he was entertained. It's, without a doubt, a must stop on any future visits.

It was late heading home, but we couldn't pass up Lambert's for dinner. SO GOOD!

We were really hoping to make our stay in Branson the beginning of a week-long vacation to Oklahoma, as well; but while my hubby had the entire week off, the costs involved in an emergency appendectomy, ongoing issues with my hubby's Jeep, the continued need for a kitchen remodel, and even braces in our forecast, we chose to cut things a bit short. It was still such a great week and nice to have my hubby's uninterrupted (Well, almost uninterrupted, work does have a way of not being able to leave him alone.) attention. I'll be back tomorrow with this month's Friday Faves roundup. Until then, thanks so much for stopping by! Have a truly fantastic start to your weekends, friends! Hugs!

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I am a former kindergarten teacher turned wife of 16 years to BJ and stay-at-home, homeschool mommy to three beautiful gifts from God, Ezekiel (14), Adina (9), and Kaden (4). When I'm not taking care of or playing with my family, you can find me cooking, baking, gardening, sewing, and of course, papercrafting. My love for the latter started over thirteen years ago, but my love for creating began before birth. I feel overwhelmingly blessed by all God has given me and know that if I continue to keep my eyes on Him, He'll keep me soaring.

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All images are copyright Jinny Newlin. Shared images are not to be copied, without written consent, and/or used for publications or design contests. If you find yourself inspired, and I hope you do, and would like to share your idea on the internet, please note where you found the original idea. Thanks!